Panthers swoop on tame Cowboys
A JAMES Maloney masterclass has helped Penrith to a big win over North Queensland in Townsville, the Panthers comprehensively accounting for the Cowboys 33-14.
Maloney had a perfect night with the boot, nailing a field goal, scoring a try and setting up three others in a dominant display. The Cowboys’ talismanic halves combination of Michael Morgan and Johnathan Thurston looked strangely lost in comparison — with failed fifth tackle options and seemingly no answer to the Panthers’ attack.
North Queensland got off to a horror start — with Penrith scoring first points and losing Javid Bowen to a concussion from a high tackle, bringing Ethan Lowe in as a makeshift centre.
The Panthers kept piling on the punishment — with Maloney putting Viliame Kikau through a wide open hole to score their first, before scoring his own when a grubber pinballed off half-adozen players and landed back in his arms. But the Panthers penalty count came back to bite them momentarily — when the referees sent James Tamou to the sinbin for repeat offending. North Queensland made the most of Tamou’s absence, scoring through Kyle Feldt and going into the break down 16-4.
A monstrous run from Jason Taumalolo from the second half kick-off knocked Isaah Yeo out before he hit the ground, putting a finish to his night. But two more penalty goals saw the Panthers extend their lead to 16 points. PENRITH 33 (Blake, Kikau, Leota, Maloney tries, Maloney 8 goals, Maloney field goal) defeated NORTH QUEENSLAND 14 (Feldt 2, Winterstein tries, Thurston goal) at 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville. Crowd: 11,907.